The Family Mausoleum Battle Map - Launch

Hello Adventurers! I’ve been working hard this week on our latest map, The Family Crypt, renamed ‘The Family Mausoleum’. I wanted to create a multi roomed mini dungeon style map with a range of different rooms, mostly all filled with coffins, urns and sarcophagi. It turned into quite a large crypt, so I can imagine its owners are some old family with a long and storied past. This could be used for a number of scenarios, from a lair of a vampire and their spawn, to an undead infested Lords crypt. You could even cut the map up and use the side rooms or main chamber separately as smaller crypts.

I’ll be working on our next map over the week, that will be ‘The Clock Tower’ a map with a few tower levels, imagine running up stairs, having a fight and then heading to the next level. I’ll try to get that out in a week or so, with a final rocky/desert wilderness map coming at the end of the month.

New Map notes ‘descriptions’ intro text

I’m going to try something a little different for this PDF map notes. Instead of an encounter example for the intro I’m going to write some descriptive text for each chamber which I hope will be useful for you busy DMs. Let me know what you think. Thanks for your feedback on recent maps and of course your amazing support! For new Patrons let me know if you have any questions, have a great week and as always happy adventuring!

Introduction (Chamber descriptions)

The urn hall

The interior of the crypt is dark, the air still and musty. Around the walls of this chamber are dozens of urns of all shapes and styles, ranging from simple pottery to ornate bronze. A few coffins sit on brass stands, their ancient wood turned silver grey, metal fittings hanging loose as the wood warps with age.

Encounter ideas:

• Urns could contain spirits which make the urn glow for a round before the spirit attacks! Smashing the glowing urns destroys the spirit. Have a few start glowing each round.
• Have some undead appear from the coffins
• Any missed range attack has a chance to break an urn releasing a spirit.

The side chambers

Walking down the steps you enter a chamber filled with coffins, some on stands, others on shelves in dark alcoves along the walls. In front of you, against the wall is an altar covered in half melted candles. An ancient sword/shield rests on the altar, still bright despite its obvious age.

Encounter ideas:

• If the sword/shield is removed the chamber’s dead awake to defend it.
• If a coffin is opened all the dead in the chamber awaken.
• Some kind of symbol can be carved on the coffins to prevent the dead from waking.

The main chamber

Proceeding down the steps you find yourself in a large chamber, to the left and right are archways framing small alcoves, each containing a single grey stone sarcophagus. Ahead is a raised platform surrounded by stone steps. On it rests a large ornate sarcophagus, bronze fittings adorning its lid.

Encounter ideas:

• This area could contain a Lord and his guards. If the undead Lord attacks the party he calls forth a guard each round, or one from each side of the chamber, or he can use a special action if he looks like he is going to be defeated.
• The undead Lord could call his sword and shield to him, which are in the side chambers. If the party is using either item they make a strength check to see if they hold onto them.
• This Lord could be an unwilling servant of some more powerful undead and beg the party to put him to rest while attacking them. 
• Have him hint at ways to dispatch him more easily, all the while attacking the party.

The altar and bronze sarcophagus

At the end of the passage you see an altar within the chamber. A number of bronze plates and dishes are placed on and around it containing coins and the odd gem. 

As you enter the chamber you can see to your right a raised area with two stone coffins and a huge bronze sarcophagus etched with swirling patterns. Large red gems are embedded into its surface, like eyes glinting in the dark. There is a strong metallic odour in the room and an oppressive atmosphere making the air feel thick and difficult to breath.

Encounter ideas:

• Obviously this room could be used for a vampire encounter, the ornate sarcophagus being a resting place for someone very important.
• Have the two side coffins be used for the vampires ‘wives’ or ‘husbands’.
• The bronze sarcophagus could be a prison for the undead creature, it's simple presence over the years could have been awakening the other dead within the crypt. The party's job is to release and defeat the creature to prevent more undead from rising.
• The gems are magical and seal the sarcophagus, prying them loose will free the creature.

Dowry of a Corpse Bride

Patrick (one of my amazing patrons) wrote this fantastic add-on adventure for Curse of Strahd which uses this map. I'd highly recommend you take a look if you are playing CoS! See the bottom of the page for the PDF download!

Variants

Lit version, for a funeral or ritual

Ruined version for an abandoned crypt (add spiders for some added spice!)

And a vampire lair with blood pooling throughout the main chamber. Have it ripple in strange ways as the party steps into it.